Allan cowperthwait



(No Model.) 2 Sheets Sheet 1.

A. OOWPERTHWAIT. HOLDER FOR BROOM BACKS No. 557,303. Patented Mar, 31, 1896.

' INVENTOH W @M'WW ATTORNEY.

ANDREW a GRMAM PHOTO-LUNG wAsmms'mrLoc (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

A. GOWPERTHWAIT. HOLDER FOR BROOM BACKS.

No. 557,303. Patented Menu. 31, 1896.

INVENTOH UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' ALLAN COYVPERTHYVAIT, OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

HOLDER FOR BROOM-BACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,303, dated March 31, 1896.

Application filed July 6, 1895. fierial N0. 555 ,103. (N0 model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LALLAN COWPERTHWAIT, of Montreal, Canada, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Holder for Broom- Backs and Analogous Articles, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in an apparatus for holding the backs of brooms,

brushes, and analogous things while the said backs are being bored. It is necessary in boring such backs to have the holes bored at various angles, the holes near the center being practically straight through the backs, while the holes nearer the ends and edges flare more or less, in order that the broom or brush may have the necessary spread.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple apparatus in which the back to be bored may be quickly and securely fastened, and which permits the back to be moved freely either vertically or laterally in front of a boring-machine or auger, so that the back may be presented to the auger in such a way as to have the holes successively bored at an accurate angle.

A further object of my inventionis to 0011- struct and arrange the apparatus so that it may be easily operated; also to arrange the parts in such a way that when the work is presented to the auger it will be accurately guided to make a hole of the desired angle; and, further, to construct the apparatus so that the various angles may be readily changed, and so that the work may be successively shifted in position to bring the succeeding rows of holes at varying and accurate angles to the brush-back.

To these ends my invention consists of certain features of construction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the Views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the com- .plete apparatus, showing the work-holding clamp in position in front of the auger. Fig.

2 is a plan view of the apparatus. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and shows in detail the means for vertically adjusting the work-holding clamp. Fig. 4 is a front face View of the clamp in which the work is fastened; and Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of a portion of the ball-joint, which provides for the adjustment and free movement of the clamp. 4

The apparatus is provided with a workholding clamp 10, which has a back plate 11, provided at one end with a handle 12, and projecting forward from the back plate near the upper and lower edges are parallel rails 13, which are provided with longitudinal shoulders 14 on their inner sides, which shoulders are adapted to fit against the brush or broom back to be bored. The rails 13 are adjustable in relation to each other to provide for holding backs of different widths, this being effected by means of thumb-screws 15, which project through the transverse slots 16 in the back plate 11 and engage the rails 13. The back plate 11 is also provided with an angular stop or abutment 17, which is located near one end of the plate and midway between the rails 13, this stop being adjustable back and forth from the end of the plate by means of a bolt 18, which projects through a slot 19 in the plate. The object of this adjustable stop or abutment 17 is to adapt the clamp to backs of different lengths and to enable the holes in various parts of the back to be bored at different angles, as will hereinafter appear.

The work is fastened between the rails 13 by means of an ordinary cam-lever 20, which is pivoted on the upper rail and the cam 21 of which is adapted to impinge on the work. This is an ordinaryfastening device, and any other suitable fastening may be substituted for it without affecting the principle of my invention. v

The clamp 10 is supported overhead by means of a counterbalance to enable it to move freely up and down and laterally, and

to this end it is attached to chains 22, which connect with the clamp near its ends, and which are attached to a cable 23 running over suitable overhead guide-pulleys 24 and connecting with the counterbalancing-weight 25.

The clamp 10 is at its back hinged, as shown at 26, to a guide-rod 27, which has a free movement in any direction, but which will work well so long as it has freedom to swing vertically and laterally. The rod 27 extends back through a supporting-bracket 28, and is provided with a ball 29, which is slidable on the rod and is held by a set-screw 30. The ball 29 fits into half-cups 31 and 32, which are supported on the bracket 28, and thus the rod 27 is held securely and causes the clamp 10 to swing when moved up and down or laterally from a common center, which center can be changed by changing the position of the ball 29, and thus practically shortening or lengthening the rod 27.

It will be at once seen that it is not necessary to confine my invention to this balLj oint connection .between the bracket 28 and the clamp 10, as only the two movements viz., the vertical and lateral-are necessary, and hence any usual construction of joint which permits such movements can be substituted for the ball-joint described.

Secured rigidly to the plate 11 and extending back toward the bracket 28 is an arm 33, which is preferably bent at one end, as shown at 34, to provide for a secure attachment to the plate, and at its free or rear end the arm is bent twice at a right angle, as shown at 35, and provided with a sleeve 36, extending at right angles to the main part of the arm, in which sleeve is held a spring-pin 37, which extends also through a hole in the arm 33 and is pressed by a spring 38, arranged between the sleeve 36 and an abutment 39 on the pin, so as to force the pin into one of a series of notches 40 on a catch-plate or clip 41, which is provided with a boss 42 on its back to receive the rod 27 on which the boss slides, and the boss and catch-plate are held in place by a set-screw 43. The catch-plate or clip 41 is provided with flanges 44 at top and bottom to engage and limit the movement of the arm It will be noticed that the clamp 10 could be moved freely up and down if it were rigidly attached to the guide-rod 27; but it has been found that when the clamp is placed opposite the auger it is necessary when boring the upper and lower rows of holes in the brush-back to tilt the clamp at a sharper angle in relation to the guide-rod, so as to get the desired angle of the work in relation to the auger, and by hinging the clamp to the guide-rod 27, as described, this tilting may be easily done, and when the clamp is tilted the arm is also tilted and the spring-pin 37 brought opposite a diifercnt notch 40, into which it springs, thus fastening the clamp. In this connection it should be noticed that there are as many notches 40 as there are rows of holes to be bored in the brush-back, and the catch-plate or clip 41 containing the notches is detachably secured to the boss, so that when desired the said catch-plate may be removed and another with a longer or shorter row of notches substituted for it.

The supporting-bracket 28 is held so as to slide back and forth on a track 45, which is supported on a bench 46, and the apparatus is placed opposite an anger 47, which is driven by an ordinary boring-machine, which is not illustrated, but which provides for turning the auger in the usual manner.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The back to be bored is placed in the clamp 10, being fastened by a cam-lever 20, with one end against the stop 17 and the other extending from the clamp. The operator then tilts the clamp 10 so as to bring it to the desired angle in relation to the rod 27, grasps the handle 12 and starts boring either the upper or lower row of holes, as desired. It will be noticed that the center of the back will be practically in alinement with the rod 27, and so when the clamp is moved to bring the end portion of the brush opposite the anger the brush-back will be held in such a waythat a hole will be bored at a comparatively large angle to the back, while as the back is swung for the succeeding hole the angle will become gradually less until the hole nearest the center is reached, and this will extend practically straight through the back. It will be ob served, too, that the same eifect will be had in relation to the vertical angle by adjusting the arm 33 in the clip or catch-plate 41. After all the holes in one end portion of the brush or broom have been bored the back is reversed, so as to bring the opposite end into the clamp, when the above operation is repeated.

The angle at which the brush-back is held to the auger varies with the length of the guide-rod 27, and this may readily be adjusted, as above described, so as to regulate the angle of the holes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a sliding bracket, a work-holding clamp, a single guide-rod hinged to the back of the clamp and connecting by a flexible joint with the bracket, and a fastening device to fix the angle of the clamp in relation to the guide-rod, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a sliding bracket, a work-holding clamp, a single guide-rod hinged to the clam pback and connected by a flexible joint with the bracket, a rigid arm secured to the back of the clamp and extending practically parallel with the guide-rod, and a fastening device to secure the arm and guide-rod together, substantially as described.

3. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a work-holding clamp, a single guiderod suitably supported so as to swing vertically and laterally, a hinged connection between the said guide-rod and the back of the rod and bracket, and an overhead weighted clamp, and a fastening device to fix the posicable supporting the clamp, substantially as 10 tion of the clamp in relation to the guide-rod, described. substantially as described. ALLAN OOWPERTI-DVAIT. 5 4. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a Work-holding clamp, a guide-rod \Vitnesses: hinged to the back of the clamp, a sliding F. J. HATOHETT, bracket, a flexible joint connecting the guide- V. H. COX. 

